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When Napoleon graduated from UNC in 1976, Queenie followed suit the very next year — using most of Napoleon’s books.

Two weeks after Queenie graduated, the couple married and worked in public relations for the U.S. Air Force.

The pair returned to Chapel Hill in 2006, when Napoleon was offered a position as an assistant professor in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Two years later, Queenie moved into the office beside him.

And at the end of the spring semester, the couple will be taking one more step together — retirement.

“There’s a philosophy that was always told to me: always leave the stage while they’re still applauding,” Napoleon Byars said.

Queenie Byars said they made the decision together this summer.

She was a candidate for receiving tenure in May, but after the faculty approved her, she was denied by an outside review conducted by public relations professionals and other scholars across the nation.